HELCO announces plans to expand geothermal energy

The electric utility on Hawaii island said it will soon begin soliciting bids from developers to supply it with up to 50 megawatts of geothermal energy.

At the same time, Hawaii Electric Light Co. officials said they will undertake technical studies to determine the impact of that amount of integrating additional geothermal power into the island’s electrical grid.

Unlike wind and solar power, which are intermittent in nature, geothermal resources provide a firm source of power. In order to accommodate the additional geothermal power HELCO said it would have to shutdown some of its oil-burning units.